Letters to the Editor
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About those other people
If LW asked me this, I would tell him to ask himself honestly if there are situations in which he has used his illness to rationalize unpleasant or threatening behavior. I used to call this the "gap" with a friend of mine: that place where it's difficult to tell whether the person's illness is taking over, or he's just being a jerk. When it's not clear, most friends hesitate to call you out on the bad behavior, and so, it's possible to "get away" with things that you normally wouldn't be able to. But long-term acquaintances figure this out after a while and often resent being taken advantage of, or otherwise protect themselves in ways that make the mentally ill person less of a friend.
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Not a typical "bullying" problem
To those who would blame society for this, note he was born in Korea, and his family noticed he had problems while living there. Maybe, if he'd been born into an upper middle class home in a western society he could have received the appropriate care and medication to diagnose and treat his problems, but this is not an issue of "society" being at fault.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/us/22vatech.html?em&ex=1177473600&en=2115d0b2d410c833&ei=5070
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How can you say the massacre means nothing Carey? Shame on you!
Shame on you Carey! How can you say it means nothing. The hell it does! As a mental health professional that sort of existential crap really pissed me off. What happened means that sometimes people are very disturbed and when they don't receive help, they can step outside the bound of soceity and inflict damage that lives beyond days, years, and generations. They break the social code we all agree to abide by as members of civilization. If we are to continue to coexist we must find a way to help those that find themselves in dark and troubled waters. The author of this letter was looking for some guidance, some reassurance that he doesn't have to travel the path of violence, lonliness, and horror that the VA tech shooter did. You gave him bupkiss instead. C'mon! Save your rants on construction of societal mores and meaningless for less purposful and dire inquiries.
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Mental illness and security clearances
Just wanted to respond briefly to "Anonymous," who wrote a posting entitled "College Students and Mental Illness," in which he/she described his/her reluctance to seek mental health counseling for fear of someday being denied a government job that requires a security clearance.
Let me assure you that, in most instances, a history of mental health treatment or even a severe psychiatric disorder will not result in the denial of your security clearance. If you make an entry on the security clearance application form showing a history of mental health treatment, you will then have to sign a release form allowing the investigator to ask your treatment provider three very specific questions, all of which go to your ability to be trusted with national security information. Reporting this information can cause a *delay* in the processing of your security clearance (since this is one more thing that some investigator has to run down), but generally not an outright denial.
I say this as someone who works regularly with forensic psychiatrists and psychologists who work for the federal government, and who make determinations on a regular basis concerning the fitness of employees to hold a security clearance. They have an enlightened and modern view of mental illness, and it is extremely rare, to my experience, that they would find someone ineligible for a clearance for mental health reasons. The instances where this has occurred have usually come to their attention following an incident of workplace violence or bizarre behavior (such as stalking) that is disrupting the workplace.
So please, folks, don't put off or avoid mental health treatment out of fear that you will be ineligible for a security clearance. There are plenty of people walking around with Top Secret clearances, and in some cases, toting firearms for the federal government, who have been in counseling for years and are on a variety of meds.
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It's not "nothing"
The sad thing is that serious warning signs regarding Cho's sanity had screamed themselves out to a variety of people...but there was no good system for making sure he got the help he needed. A lot of things need to be done to help people like Cho and to prevent these kinds of tragedies, from diagnosing children properly, to "no tolerance" bullying policies in all schools, to proper follow up of those who have mental health issues, etc.
LW, you're very brave to write. I am glad that your medications help and that you're introspective enough to think about your situation carefully and intelligently. I wish I had advice for you that would be meaningful, but I just feel sad that people treat you that way. I hope that we can become more aware of mental illness in this country and somehow integrate it into our societal consciousness instead of ignoring it or stigmatizing it.
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High incidence of mental illness in Salon readership
Does anyone else think there seems to be an inordinately high amount of mental illness among these letter writers and their families? Is it just because this topic is of interest to them or is it because there are more mentally ill people than I realize?
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Somewhat Off-Topic
But I feel the need to corrent the blatantly incorrect information offered by a previous poster regarding self-injury.
Obviously I know nothing about the self injury of the LW, but I think the psychologist should be excused because what he said does apply to the vast majority of cases of self injury...
I have spent a lifetime working with people who have mental illnesses and have almost never known a case in which someone has self injured when there was no possibility of getting medical attention...
The notion that all, or even most individuals self injure for the sake of manipulating others or gaining attention has been proven profoundly wrong repeatedly in a range of medical studies and surveys. The view espoused above is both wrong-headed, and inconsistent with the modern understanding of this complex behavior that manifests itself as a symptom of several different mood and personality disorders. It's also extremely dangerous, in that it overtly shames and punishes victims, many of whom are asking for the help they desperately need in the only way they know how. This is a problem that requires comprehensive and compassionate treatment before those suffering can learn to control the impulse, treatment they are unlikely to solicit if they anticipate being blamed by individuals such as this poster for being "narcissistic."
Self-injury is an issue that I have struggled with for quite some time, with the assistance of in and out patient treatment. I personally have actively avoided seeking medical attention for my wounds, and have yet to ever encounter a person whose motivation was to solicit a reaction or garner attention from medical personnel. In fact, secrecy is usually the order of the day, and I speak from experience when I say that there is nothing more frustrating to a self-injurer than a full body check for new bruises or wounds.
Unless we happen to be qualified mental health professionals, it is not for us to say what ot how another person suffers, or to attempt to plumb the motivations of a psyche other than our own. This is, if I understand correctly, the core of Cary's response, and it's a sentiment all armchair psychologists ought to consider before offering diagnoses and assessments based more on personal need and experience than a genuine respect for the complex nature of both the individual brain and the workings of society.